The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 12

A12 Wednesday, June 23, 1999 Rim The Pantagraph Xm CITIZENS, YUGOSLAVS HAS Donald R. Skaggs Publisher Bill Wills Managing EditorEditorial Jan Dennis Managing EditorNews The Pantagraph Independent in everything, -njtra( In Founded Jan. 14, 1837, by Jesse W. Fell WON A GREAT VlCTORl! OUR INVINCiett WW HAS VANQUISH THE NATO NOW WE Editorials Power of advertising reflected in debates It is ironic that at the same time casino operators won greater freedom to advertise their services, movie producers are undergoing greater scrutiny of how they mar- ket violent films. In both cases, the focus is on the power of advertising and its impact on individuals.

In both cases, restrictions are intended to "protect" supposedly vulnerable people. But there is a big difference. In the case of casinos, the government imposed the limits. In the case of movies, the scrutiny is part of a voluntary rating system although the government is making noise about getting involved. The U.S.

Supreme Court struck down a government ban on radio and television advertising by privately owned casinos in states with legalized gambling. Supporters of the restrictions said the limits protected compulsive gamblers, but the justices noted the ban was riddled with exceptions, allowing ads for state-run lotteries, charity gambling and Indian casinos. Interpretation of the ban by the Federal Communications Commission has allowed casinos to refer to "Vegas-style excitement" and emphasize non-gambling activities, but showing people actually gam SET A50UT OUR NOT GREAT TASK; Time for farmers to put their own house in order It's past time for agriculture and farmers to put its house in order. Two-dollar per bushel corn is ridiculous. Farmers and the Department of Agriculture must set the price of corn and all commodities based on the cost of production.

The Farm Bureau is not an association of farmers or a representative of farmers. It is strictly a business organization, a seller of goods and services. The Board of Trade in Chicago is a self-appointed dealer and gambler, if you will, in the commodity markets. It should not be setting the price of a bushel of corn. State Farm Insurance is the biggest employer in McLean County along with agriculture.

It does not say: What will you give us to insure your automobile? They say it will cost you this amount for an insurance policy Farmers must do the same for a bushel of corn and the Department of Agriculture should back it up and certify it, not unlike public utility rates. D.M. Laughlin Bloomington It's definitely not true that 'Ryan knows best' Until I got The Pantagraph today (June 11), seeing the editorial page headline reading "Illinois getting a taste of 'George Ryan knows I thought I was the only dissenter. Newspaper articles in the Pantagraph (have) read: "Gov. Ryan raises car and truck license and transfer fees.

Ryan is giving more to education. Ryan in the final day of the Legislature is authorized to give cabinet raises in pay up to 85 of his pay" All this from a governor who campaigned on no new taxes. Determining their own salaries is not right and even more wrong is the bloated retirement Letter guidelines The Pantagraph welcomes letters commenting on current public issues. All letters are subject to editing and can be no more than 350 words. No more than one letter from the same person within 30 days.

Letters must include the writer's name and complete home address. A daytime telephone number is required for verification. Send to: The Pantagraph Letters to the Editor 301 W.Washington St. Bloomington, IL 61702-2907 Fax number: (309) 829-7000 E-mail: bwillspantagraph.com Governor's office in Marion reaching out to electorate Only time will tell the value of the governor having a special office in Marion. But Gov.

George Ryan deserves credit for understanding the logistical problems for people in need of state help in the far reaches of the Istate and taking steps to remedy rthem. Because of the sparse population and the distance between major cities, many Southern Illinoisans feel like they are disenfranchised from state government. During his campaign, Ryan promised that he bling was strictly a no-no. After the court's ruling, ads now will be able to mention the games available and show people playing cards and shooting dice. Some might call that "truth in advertising" although listing the odds of winning would be more truthful.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Motion Picture Association of America the organization that puts the through "NC-17" ratings on films is getting stricter with guns and violent imagery in advertising. Use of guns in ads, particularly guns being fired or pointed at the camera, reportedly will undergo strict scrutiny and possibly be banned. Because these previews and promotional materials for violent films are sometimes seen by the G-rated-only crowd, it makes sense for the ratings group to be watchful. Yet we hope the sanitizing of these ads doesn't give people the wrong impression of the material audiences will see if they go to the film. Whether people are gambling with their money and future or their children's development and socialization, the key is for the buyer to beware.

Don't believe everything you see or don't see. would open a special office in Southern Illinois and he kept his word without the traditional grand-opening fanfare. Ryan's staff should monitor the office to make sure it justifies the expense, which includes a new staff person. The governor shouldn't hesitate to close the office if it isn't used with some frequency. After all, the justification used for the Marion office could probably be used in the northwestern part of the state as well.

a young minister: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Her action and the actions of those she inspired put a face on racial discrimination and triggered changes in discriminatory laws and practices. In bestowing the nation's highest civilian honor on Parks, President Clinton aptly summed up the legacy of Rosa Parks: "We must never, ever, when this ceremony is over, forget about the power of ordinary people to stand in the fire for the cause of human dignity and to touch the hearts of people that have almost turned to stone." high school itself was torn down years ago. On the back just below the "2 p.m.

Jan. 25, 1910" postmark was a penciled message by a sophomore 90 years ago, a student named Aizle Siron. Mike wondered if anyone knew what happened to Aizle or if any of her children might still be around. So he called Dick and Doris Siron, of Lexington. Neither had heard of Aizle.

Pantagraph photo Mike Hawkins and card 't 1 Rosa Parks is a reminder of what one person can do Letters to the editor package they set for themselves at times at multiple jobs, assuring some of six-figure retirements that are totally non-self-funded. All this is occurring during a time of the poorest agriculture economy in 65 years. This is appalling action by our governor and for those who supported him for their favorite "pork" projects, giving him unlimited funds from the Illinois checkbook. The additional funding for schools is very limited, with some schools receiving up to $25,000 less than last year. The very core problem that Governor Edgar tried to address of inequitable real estate taxes for education has not one line of print from Governor Ryan.

Farmland is simply assessed too great an amount and education must be funded in a more equitable manner where the costs are shared more equally among the entire population of our state. It is also very frustrating to me to see Governor Ryan and Mayor Daley be so critical of Governor Edgar, who completed putting Illinois in the black after he came to office when Illinois was deeply in debt. We simply don't need a governor taking us back to Governor Thompson-economics. I'm sure many of us will have lasting memories of this purge in the next two-and four-year elections. Paul Bertsche Flanagan Air Force Thunderbirds show is about to arrive Along with other active and banked CO's (commanding officers) and vaunt-couriers of the United States Air Force, I am fervently awaiting the much antici-.

pated arrival of the F-16C Thunderbirds esprit de corps armada as they are stealthily piloted across Illinois and the American hinterland in mid-July! The aeronautical and nanosecond safety measure for the Thunderbird pilots is an ongoing, prayerful achievement after exhaustive, intense training in this defined Falcon for demonstration events. My last field of view for the Thunderbirds, after more than two decades, was during the May 30, 1992 former Chanute Air Force Base open house. Hopefully, Bloomington-Normal, McLean County and Central Illinois citizens both non-militaristic and militaristic will come to witness this fine precision-oriented team with pride abounding for their United States Air Force. Helen Thornburgh Miller Mansfield "It was almost spooky," says Mike. "When I called to make sure it was the same Aizle from 90 years ago, then I realized even Lexington and Beloit have the same 365- phone prefix." A humorous side note: In Aizle's 1910 postcard, she mentioned there were 40 in her class.

The Class of '99? It graduated 36. Some things obviously never change. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: When next in Phoenix and you flip on the motel TV to see a familiar-looking face as an anchor on KPNX's "12 News Today," yes, that is former WJBC news guy, Royal Norman, who's moved on from Atlanta's WXIA where he was chief weather guy. Or, more importantly, as says Stew Sa-lowitz, Illinois Wesleyan media liaison and a 'JBC alum himself: "I guess Braves tickets are now out and Diamondbacks tickets are in." CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE: So we now learn that our own Rep. Tom Ewing one of Illinois' richest congressmen, according to just-released financial Nations should condemn aggression by Pakistan It's been a few weeks since Indian troops have been fighting hard to regain the land occupied by infiltrators backed by the Pakistan army in the India state of Jammu Kashmir.

There is ample evidence to prove that Pakistan is directly involved in creating a warlike situation in Kargil, Drass and Batalik sectors of Jammu Kashmir. To name a few: They have infiltrated around 1,000 mercenaries into the Indian territory to wage a war. Reliable reports say that Pakistan is all set to send thousands more mercenaries toward the Indian side of the Line of Control, as the initial infiltrators are not able to withstand the Indian attack. Inter Service Intelligence, Pakistan's intelligence agency, is training the Afghan militants in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and it has promised to give each militant approximately $7,500 for carrying out their fight to liberate Jammu Kashmir. In early June, India handed over three bodies of dead Pakistan army men to their commmanding officer in Kargil sector, which they have accepted.

This clearly shows their direct involvement in the conflict in the Indian side of Jammu Kashmir. This list goes on. The aim of Pakistan is to internationalize the Kashmir issue and to gain the support of all major countries, most importantly the United States. Their calculations backfired when both the U.S. and Russia asked Pakistan to move out of Kashmir.

Thoroughly isolated, Pakistan is rushing its foreign minister, Sartaj Aziz, to China with a view to counterattack India's move. If the activities of Pakistan are left unchecked then there is a strong possibility of many more Osama bin Ladens taking birth. India has always faced threat from the neighboring China, which has an overt military understanding with Pakistan. In light of the above, I urge all the nations in the world to strongly condemn the proxy war carried out by Pakistan and to declare it as a terrorist nation. Veerapalli V.

Naidu Bloomington records printed in this paper -ing, too, huh? FLICKS: Been out to the West Side lately to see that, four months after Wehren-berg Theaters announced plans for a palatial, 16-screen cinemaplex initially targeted to open later this year or early next nothing is there except a major swath of soybeans planted on the site instead of a movie palace? So have others. Champaign-Urbana readers, in fact, e-mail to tell us that a couple years ago, that set of Twin Cities was promised a Wehren-berg Theater. And it's still waiting. So is it still on in B-N? Wehrenberg folk are mum, saying the theater is still "in the design stage" and they won't comment further. But we've been thinking that in wake of the outlet mall, which also took forever to get built out that way the opening film for the proposed theater (if it ever gets built) is evolving as an obvious "West Side Story." Bill Flick is a Pantagraph columnist.

To leave him voice-mail, call CITYUNE at 829-WOO and punch category 2400. By e-mail: flickpantagraph.com The Congressional Gold Medal presented to Rosa Parks often icalled the "mother of the civil rights movement" was a fitting Hkribute and a reminder of the one person can have. jj Too often, people shrink from a cause by saying, "I'm only one What difference can I make?" Parks answered that question the day she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in Montgomery in 1955. I Her arrest led to a boycott of the Z', Montgomery transportation system and brought to national prominence SOME SIRON: Ex-Lexington woman leaves her (post)mark Bill Flick ') I --ud READER MAIL: Tom of Bloomington writes: "I'm 44 and don't have a driver's license. These days, though, with tightened ID enforcement, I've discovered I can't buy beer without a driver's license they won't take any other form of ID which apparently means to drink today, you have to drive.

But the reason I don't have a license now is because I did drink and drive. Does any of this make sense?" We'll not drink to that. 'POST HASTE: Mike Hawkins is a collector of things old and antique, and is well known as that as well as the popular, longtime principal at Lexington High. So when Doug Bell, from Chenoa, was at a sale recently and spotted a mint, 90- year-old postcard with a photo of Lex ington High as it appeared in 1910 he snatched it for Hawkins. Mike analyzed it.

The photo looked as if it might have been yesterday, even if the Dick then called his oldest sister, Irene Martin, also of Lexington. She hadn't heard of Aizle, either. About a month passed. That's when Irene went to her mailbox one afternoon to find a letter from a friend in Rockford who had just happened to see the words "Lexington, 111." in a story in the Rockford Register Star newspaper and thought Irene might like to see it. It was the story of a woman in a Beloit, nursing home, celebrating her 106th birthday Included was a picture of the 106-year-old enjoying a piece of birthday cake.

Cue the "Twilight Zone" theme. In a downright incredible twist, the woman celebrating was identified as Aizle Dawes. That's her married name. Siron was her maiden name..